Ignition device.



H. W. UHL.

IGNITION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2I| 1915.

1 1 76,794; Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

IN I/EIV TOR BY m ' ATTORNEYS H- W. UHL.

IGNITION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-21.1915- 1,176,794. Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SflEETS-SHEET 2.

wagmw 7' 7 V ATTORNEY UNITED STATES HENRY w. minor 'rnnnronr, NEW YORK.

IGNITION DEVICE. i

PATENT o FIon.

Application filed August 21, 1915. Serial No. 46,619.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L Hnxnr W. UHL, a citizen of.the United States, residing at Freeport, county of Nassau,'-and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ignition Devices of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to ignition devices, that is, to devices for firing the explosive mixture in the cylinders of an internal .com-' bustion motor. My improved mechanisms include. means for effecting the make and break in the primary circuit of the spark coil very rapidly, therapidity of making and breaking the circuit being independent of the speed of the motor. While the contact is made and released very quickly, the parts may be so proportioned that contact is maintained for a sufiicient time to enable the desired saturation of the coils'to be obtaiiied. My improvements also include devices for reversingthe direction of the current in the'primary circuit of the spark coil each time the .circuit is opened and closed, to prevent deterioration of the contact points at which the circuit is completed.

More particularly, my invention comprises a normally open primary circuit for the spark coil including a spring contact which is positively forced against the stationary contact, to close the circuit by the action "of a contact closing device which rotates. always in the same direction and carries spaced projections which wipe across the spring contact. This contact makeris rotated by a spring connection with the timer shaft or other rotating element and is held periodically "by the engagement therewith-"of some form of detent. During each pause of the contact maker, its driving spring gathers power and upon the release of the contact maker by the detent one of its projecting points is rapidly wiped across the spring contact, to close the circuit, by

the action of the driving spring. A d1s- 'tributer arm, constantly rotating, engages contacts in a distributer of usual form, eachtime thatthe primary circuit is opened and closed, to close the secondary circuit of the spark coil through the. spark plug in one or another of the motor cylinders in the well known manner.

vices of the character briefly referred to above.

In order that a clearer understanding of.

my invention maybe had, attention is here- .by dlrected to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application and illus- Erating certain embodiments of my inven ion.

' In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section through one form of my device, in which a rotating commutator for reversing thecircuit connections is employed, Fig. 2 is a transversesection taken on line 2-42 of Fig. 1, and showing diagrammatically the electrical connections of the primary spark coil circuit, Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line',33 of Fig- 1, Fig. 4 is a sectional view, illustrating a detail of construction and taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2,'Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1 of a'dilferent formof construction,

Fig. 6 is atransversesection taken on line 6-6 of Fig.?;v5 Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view similar to Fig. '2, showing a further modification, and Fig. 8 is a detail view illustrating a form of detent and contact making device somewhat different from that shown in Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 to 4, the shaft 1 is illustrated as pinned to a sleeve or coupling 2, which is adapted to be secured to the timer shaft, or other rotating shaft, of the engine. 1 extends upwardly-through the boss 3, into Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

Shaft the interior of the casing 4:. Shaft 1 has a gear 5 secured thereon immediately above the bottom plate. 6 of the casing. Gear 5 meshes with a pinion 7 rotatable-on ,a fixed pin 8, mounted in the bottom plate 6 of the casing. A detent member 9 is also-rotatably trically conducting segments 11 11', sepaby the continued rotation of shaft 1.

rated by insulation 12, 12, is mounted above the detent 9, to rotate therewith. A spring contact 13 bears upon the upper end of the commutator and constantly makes contact with the horizontal extension 11 of the segment 11.

The circuit 14 contains the battery 15, primary coil 16 of an induction coil, and the normally open contacts 17 and 18. Contact 17'iscarried by an adjusting screw 19, extending. through an insulating bushing 20, in the casing 4. The contact 18 is carried bya leaf spring 21, secured at one end to the casing, as shown at 22. The other end of the spring is held against undue movement inwardly by a stop 23 integral with or secured to the inner surface of the casing.

Contact between contacts 17, and 18 is made by the rotary contact maker 24, which is loosely mounted upon shaft 1. A spiral spring 25 is coiled within the interior of member 24, one end of the spring being secured to shaft 1, and the other end to member 24. This spring tends to rotate the contact maker in the same direction as that of shaft 1. Contact spring 21 has a portion curved inwardly, as shown at 26, which is wiped across successively by the projections 27 on contact maker 24, to press contacts 17 and 18 together.

The detent member 9 has a cylindrical surface and a pair of vertical recesses 28 formed at diametrically opposite points on ts perlphery. As detent 9 rotates with pin- 1on 7, recesses 28 engage successively with the noses or projections 27 formed on member 24. Member 24 isprovided with surfaces 29 on each side of noses 27, which are curved on the same radius as the cylindrical surface of detent 9. Accordingly as shaft 1 rotates, member 24 rotates therewith, be cause of the spring connection 25 between the shaft and member 24, until a curved sure face 29 of member-24 contacts the periphery of detent 9. Member 24 is accordingly stopped and spring 25 is put under tension In the rotation of detent 9, a recess 28 now comes in line with the adjacent'nose 27. of member 24, the nose dropping therein. As

the rotation of the detent continues, nose 27 i is released from recess 28, whereupon spring 25 snaps member 24 forward rapidly, the

nose 27 immediately in advance of that which has been in engagement with the detent wiping across lug 26 on the contact spring 21, contacts 17 and 18 being pressed together while nose 27 is passing over lug 26 and circuit 14 closed during this interval.

The circuit from battery 15 extends through binding post 30, to a brush 31 which bears against the surface of commutator 10. In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 2, the circuit is completed from brush 31 33, through primary coil 16 to battery 15.

Commutator 10 rotates through one hundred and eighty degrees between each make and break of the circuit at contacts 17 and 18, so that, upon the next make and break.

after that indicated in the figures as about to be made, commutator segment 11 will be in contact with brush 31 and segment 11 in contact with brush 32, reversing the connections of the circuit through the make and break device.

- The rotary contact maker 24, together with boss.34 formed thereon, may conveniently be stamped or otherwise formed of steel or other metal. The detent member 9, which coacts therewith, is preferably made of hard fiber, or the like, and may be provided with an integral sleeve or bushing 35, extending through pinion 7. The pinion, detent 9 and commutator 10 may be secured together by a number of pins, one of which 36 is shown in Fig. 4, this pin electrically connecting segment 11 of the commutator with the boss 37 of the casing 6, against which it rests. As the casing is permanently grounded through the shaft 1, etc., this provides the ground for segment 11, shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings at g. The spring contact 13 presses on the upper surface of the commutator and constantly makes contact with segment 11, which is provided with a horizontal extension 11, as stated above. Pin 8, about which pinion 7 and commutator 9 rotate, may be screw-threaded at its upper end, and provided with a nut 38 in a recess in the commutator. The slots 28 of the detent 9 are preferably sufiiciently deep to prevent the end surfaces of projections 27 of-the contact maker engaging thesame and becoming worn, the edges of the slots 28 being rounded to engage the surfaces 29 of the contact maker smoothly, and to release p the same smoothly.

The .distributer arm 39 of fiber, or other insulating material, is mounted upon the upper end of shaft 1, to which it is secured be fired, which are engaged in turn by the brush 45 on the distrlbuter arm 39, brush each time that the primary circuit is opened and closed at contacts 17 and 18, brushes 31 and 32 being at the same time in contact with commutator segments 11-. and 11, or viceversa.

The boss 34 of member 24 and shaft 1, together with distributer' arm 39 are connected by a spiral spring 46 which is wound in the opposlte direction to the spring '25 with- 'in member 24, spring '46 .bein 'secured at one end tothe boss 34 of mem er 24. The other end of spring 46 is provided with a loop 47, through which pin 40 extends. When the device is operating forwardly, pin

40 moves forwardly n loop 47, as each nose.

27 of the contact maker is held by' detent 9,

" the spring. 46 rapidly following the pin when pro]ection 27 is released by the detent, so that the end of loop '47 reengages pin 40, to prevent overthrow of the contact maker, or to prevent the following projection27 of the contact maker striking too hard ferring to Fig. 3) until a surface 29 of the contact maker abuts against the periphery '45 against the surface of detent 9. The main function of spring 46 is to take'care of the, proper alinementof contact maker 24 with,

relation to spaces 28 of the detent in case of a reversed rotation of shaft 1 and the contact maker because of a back fire- 1 When vshaft 1 runs backwardl pin'40 pulls upon 100 47 ofspring 46 an thus rotates contact ma er 24 in the reversed direction, the

spring drawing the contact maker rearwardly (that is, in a clockwise direction, re-

of detent 9. The contact maker is held'm this position until a slot, 28 registers with the adjacent nose 27, and' the contact maker is released when the slot moves'out of registry with the nose. The stored-up power in spring 46 now' draws the contact maker rearwardly a short distance.- If, now, shaft 1 starts going forwardly -again,-surface29 of the contact maker will impinge against the cylindrical surface of detent 9, and nose 27 will fall into the next slot 28 which comes in registry therewith. If spring 46 were not used to draw the contact-maker rearwardly, as stated, when released by the detent on backward movement, nose 27 would, upon the contact maker starting forwardly again,

- drop into the same slot 28 from which it has just been released in its. backwardmovesector for suitable connectlon for movlng the ment, and spring 25 would'not havepower stored up therein to. draw the contact maker forward rapidly, to wipe over spring contact 21, when released from the slot 28. Thus it is seen that spring 46 insures proper aline-' ment of contact maker 24 with respect to the slots 28, when the contact maker starts forwardly after having rotated rearwardly.

The contact maker, in moving backwardly, wipes over lug 26; of a contact spring 21, comparatively slowly, so as not to produce an effective spark, even'if the commutator segments were in 'alinement 7b with their brushes at this time, which is not the case. This slow movement is because. the impulse of spring46, when the contact maker is released from the detent is not'sufficient to carry the next nose of member 24 past lug 26, the nose 26 moving past the, I contact at the same speed as shaftl, after the impulse referred to of spring 46 is exhausted, Also, the commutator segments. will not be in line with their brushes when contacts .17 and 18 are'closed on reverse rotation of member 24, because the impulse backwardly, due to spring 46, when: member 24 is released by the detent,'is not so great, as stated, as the impulse forwardly, due to spring 25, when member 24 is released. Accordingly the commutator segments are not in the same relative positions'when contact is closed'at 17 and 1.8, on backward movement, as on forward." a The form of my device illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 maybe used particularly when it'is desired to drive the device from a shaft 48, running at magneto speed, instead of running the device fromithe timer shaft, as in the form of my device first described. Shaft 48 has a pinion 49 thereon, engaging with a gear 50, mounted on shaft 1 towhich ajdistributer arm (not shown) is secured in the same manner asdistributer arm 39 was previously described as being secured to shaft 1, in' the form of my device first described. This distributer arm makes contacts within-the distributer 41 in the same manneras previously described. Shaft 1 1 1' has a hub 51 thereon, on which are -mount-.

ed a plurality" of spring arms 52 having heads or end portions 53, arms 52 corresponding to the contact maker 24 of the form of my devicefirst described. The casing 4' is p'rovided'with a sector 53adapted to slide through a limited are about the circumference of the circular casing 4', 'casing 4' having an opening at the top which is bridged across by sector 53,-the latter having a slot-54 therein in which the adjacent edges of the casing are-mounted, The contact screw 19 carrying contact-17' extends through insulating-bushing 20 in the sector 53, and the sector is moved relatively'tc .the casing to advance or retard the-spark,

an arm 55 being shown as mounted upon the sector. The spring-contact 18' -is carried bylugs 58, secured to the sector 53. Arm 56 is pressed by spring 59, to normally hold the contacts 17 and 18 open.

i A. roller 60 is mounted on pin 57, and is contacted by each of the heads 53 of spring arms-52' in the rotationof shaft 1. The engagement of each head 53 with roller 60 retards the rotation of arms 52 until the arm in contact with roller 60 has bent back-.

'wardly a sufficient amount" to enable the same to pass roller 60. The spring action 5 of thearm 52'which' is thus released causes ,the'arm to move forward rapidly, so that its head 53, rap'idlywipes over the lug 26' on jarm5 6j'to cause contact 18' to be pressed against contact 17 .while head 53 is moving over curved lug26fi secured on the rear sides of arms 52, to preventfthe latter swinging forwardly too far. Heads '53 on spring arms 52 are suitably curvedpso that the spring arms will be held .back'and bent rearwardly when the heads. of the same contact roller 60, the elasticity of the spring arms causing the same to spring forwardly to wipe across .curved surface 26 v as each arm is freed from the roller. .Heads' 53 are given an easy curvature on theirre'ar surfaces to enable the same to readily pass over the roller when the device is rotated rearwardly. In this form of my device, the

elasticity of the spring arms 52 is depended upon to furnish the impulse necessary to make the rapid contact-closing, the spring arms being secured to hub 51 which is secured to shaft 1.

The commutator 10, which ismounted upon and rotates with shaft 48 is the same as, commutator 10 mounted upon pin 8 in the form of my device first described. The commutator is provided with a segment which is grounded in the same manner as segment 11' in the form of device first de-- scribed, and a second segment 11 with which "through a suitable brush to segment 11 of the commutator, "thence through contact spring 13' and "connection 63 i to contact screw 19', and through contacts 17 and 18', when the latter are closed, through lever 56 and the casing to ground, and thence to the other segment of the commutator and outthrough the other binding post 33 to the primary coil, andthence to the battery, in thesame manner aswasdescribed in connection with Fig. 2, the direction of current being, of course, reversed, when the commutator segments are in reversed position from Stiff springs 61 are 'on the contact screw 19.

that described. There being two segments on the commutator, and four arms 52 in the form of device illustrated, the commutator segments rotate through one hundred and eighty degrees, to reverse the battery connections, each time that contact is made and .opened between contacts 17 andl8.

Another modification of my device is shown in Fig. 7 In this form, the rotary contact maker 24 having lugs or projections 27 vthereon, is loosely mounted upon shaft 1 similar -to shaft 1, illustrated in Fig. 1, and is connected for rotation from the same by a spiral spring similar to spring 25 shown in Fig. 3. A disk 64 is secured to shaft 1 to rotate therewith, and has a number of curved recesses 65 in its periphery. A detent lever 66 is pivoted at 67, within the casing 4 This detent lever has a curved end 68 which rides on the periphery of disk 64, being held in contact therewith by -a spring 69. At the other end of the lever is a nose 76 adapted tobe contacted by the lugs 27' on contact maker 24' in the rotation of the latter. When a lug 27' abuts against nose 70, the contact maker 24: is held until in the rotation of disk 64, a recess 65 thereon comes in line with the curved end 68 of the detent lever, end 68 dropping into the recess 65, immediately withdrawing nose 7 0,

and permitting contact maken 24 to be rapidlv drawn forward by its spring, whereupon the projection 27 immediately following, that which was held by the detent wipes across lug26 on the contact spring 21', to rapidlv make contact between contacts 17 and 18 The, circuit is closed while contacts 17 and 18 are pressed together, the elasticity of spring contact 21 causing a rapidbreak of the circuit as soon as the r contact maker has passed over lug 26 In1-th s; form of my device, no means for reversing the circuit connections is shown, the deyice merelyopening and closing the circuitof the primary coil, which circuit is normally open at the contacts 17 18 It is togbe understood that the distributer arm and distributer are connected and operated in the same manner as was described in connection with Fig. 1, and also that a spring similar tothe spring 46 shown in Fig.1 may also be used and connected in the same manner as there described for acting as a spring stop, and rotating the contact maker rearwardly if the timer shaft 1 should be rotated in a reversed'direction.

' Fig. 8 illustrates a detail modification of the above in that a detent lever 66' pivoted at 67 is used in place of the detent lever 66. In this construction, the spring contact 21 is mounted directly on the detent lever and carries .a contact 18 adapted to be pressed against contact 17 The contacts are normally held in open position bya spring 71 whichmay be coiled about the pivot 67- 'and" appropriately secured as to tend to rotate the lever in a left handed direction, referring to Fig. 8. The lever has a curved lug 68 thereon, adapted to ride upon the periphery of the disk 64, shown in Fig. 7, and to drop into the recesses 65 therein. The nose 7 0 of the lever intercepts the projections 27 of the contact maker successively and holds each of thesame until the nose 68 of the lever drops into a, recess 65, whereupon the actuating spring of the contact maker (similar to spring 25 of Fig. 3) carries the contact maker rapidly forward, the lug 27' thereof, which has just been released from nose 70' wiping across a lug 26 on the lever to force contact 18 into engagement with contact 17; In other respects this modification of my invention is vthe same as that illustrated in Fig. 7

It is evident that'the curvature of the lugs 26, 26', 2'6, and 26", in the various forms of my invention illustrated, may be so chosen as to increase or decrease the-period of contact between the contacts in the primary circuit, so that the desired saturation of the spark coil may be secured. It-is also obvious that all of theforms of my device described provide a rapid make and break ofthe circuit,

which is constant for all the speedsof the motor, since the rapidity of the make and break is dependent upon the force of a spring which is stressed the same amount I i each actuation- All the forms of my device operate on open circuit, so that a comparatively small current is used. The motion of the contact-'makeris rotary always in the same direction, during the operation of the igniter, the wear and jarring of a reciprocating contact maker being avoided. The provision of the devices for reversing .the circuit connections in the primary circuit,

- each time the circuit is opened and closed,

is useful in preventing deterioration of the contacts at which t e circuit is opened. It is also obvious thaflthe spring arms 52 in 6 perform the same function" as the i spring 25 in Fig. 3 and other formsof, my

device, in connecting the contact-.makers, which may be considered as the heads 5.3; to the actuating shaft of the device, the force of the spring being increased, in'each in: stance, whilethe contact maker is held, by

the detent. When the contact maker is released from the detent, it .isdrawn for? wardly to wipe across the spring contact with an acceleration, due to the force of the spring, which may be uniform in all in:

stances, and which is independent of, th speed of the motor.'.

maker, such as 24: or 52, 53) has the proper number of noses 2 (or 53,;or27 to cor- It-is to be understood from the above description that my invention is not limited strictly to the exact forms of construction illustrated, but that the same is as broad as is indicated by the appended claims.

Having now particularly described 'my invention, what I claim and desire to prohaving projections adapted to wipe across said lug, to momentarily close said circuit, a rotating shaft, a spring connecting said shaft and contact maker, and a detent adapted to engage each projection of the contact maker in turn, ,hold the same While the force of said spring increases, and then release the same, to permit one of said pro- ]ections.to rapldly wipe over. said lug, to

press said contacts together, substantially as set forth. 2. In an ignitiondevice, the combination mary of an induction, coil, a source of current, and a pair of contacts, a rotatlng shaft,

of an electrical circuit, including the pri- 9 a commutator rotatingwith said-shaft, a rotary contact maker, actuatedfrom' said shaft, and adapted to press said contacts-together periodically in its rotation, and means for periodically holding said contact 'maker, releasing the same, and causing the sameto move past said contacts, to'momentarily press at an accelerated speed, said contacts together, segments of said commutator being included in said circuit when the latter .is closed, ,and 'said commutator being so connected and rotated as to reverse'the direction of the current in said circuit each time the circuit is closed and opened, substantially as set forth.

.. .110 3. In an ignition device, the combination contact making surfaces, adapted to wipe.

across said lug, to momentarily close said clrcuit, spring means coinnectmg sa1d shaft and surfaces, and a detent, adapted-to engage each said surface in turn, hold the same means increases to a predetermined amount,

and then release the same, to permit one of It is to be understood that the contact saidsurfaces to rapidly wipe over 'said'lug [to press said contacts together, substantially as set forth. v

.4. In an ignition device, the combination of a normally open circuit, including an while the force of its. connecting spring electrical source, the primary ofan induction coil, and, a pair of contacts, one of which is spring-pressed away from the other, and has a curved. lug movable therewith, a rotating shaft, a detent member connected to said shaft for-rotation therefrom, and having recesses in the surface thereof, a rotary contact maker loose on said shaft, and

spring-connected thereto, having surfaces adapted to contact said detent, to be held thereby momentarily, and tozenter said recesses, in the rotation of said detent, to be thereby released, and spring-actuated into wiping engagementwith said lug, a distributer arm rotating with said shaft, and a distributer having contacts passed over by said arm, substantially as set forth.

5. In an ignition device, the combination of a shaft normally rotating in one direcsaid contact maker at one end and connected to said shaft by a pin inserted in said loop at the other end, said spring being wrapped in the opposite direction to said first sprlng, substantially as set forth.

6. In'an ignition device, the combination of a shaft normally rotating in one direction,

a rotary contact maker loose on said shaft, a spiral spring connecting said shaft and contact maker, adapted to rotate said contact maker in the same direction in which said shaft normally rotates, a gear on said shaft, a pinion meshing therewith, a detent and commutator rotating with said pinion, said detent being adapted 'to hold said contact maker periodically while said spring gathers force, and then release the same, and a primary spark coil circuit including normally open contacts, adapted to be momentarily closed by said contact maker each time the same is released bysaid detent, and brushes bearing on said commutator, the segments of the latter being included in said circuit, and being adapted to reverse the current direction in said circuit each time said contacts are closed, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 18 day of August, 1915.

5 HENRY W. UHL. Witnesses: I

' DYER SMITH,

EUGENE CLARKE. 

